The Shadow Lord Invades

As a Raid event players must fight a single Boss, in this case the Shadow Lord and inflict the most damage possible during battle. Players will be rewarded with Raid Coins based on their performance (defeating the boss is not necessary but yields the maximum rewards). Raid Coins can be used to perform Raid Summon to acquire other rewards. As the player consistently damages the Raid Boss, they are given a score which is accumulated and used to earn prizes from a long list, provided they reach the threshold. They will also be given rewards based on their overall ranking in comparison to other players.

This event requires the collaboration of every player simultaneously playing the event, as all damage done to the Boss (excluding overkill damage) is subtracted from a large HP meter (featuring billions of HP) which when depleted, causes the Boss to level up and provide bonus score and in turn bonus Raid Coins with each level. Increasing the level does not increase the difficulty.

Players use Raid Orbs to participate which refill at a ratio of 1 per hour much like in the Colosseum.

The Shadow Lord's HP varies depending on the difficulty reaching his highest at 4,000,000 on ELT and the overall strategy for him is the same. Like in its original game, the Shadow Lord has giant DEF and SPR and cast a debuff of 98% on either at certain intervals, shifting to the other once every 3 turns.

The Shadow Lord attacks physical and magical attacks, he will however only use 1 type of attack per turn. He will inflict Silence when resistant to Magic and Blind when resistant to Physical. Every 4 turns he can become very aggressive on his attacks. He is also capable of inflicting Paralysis at times.

The Shadow Lord resists Dark (100%) and is immune to all status ailments. He is vulnerable to stat breaks.

Given his mechanics, Hybrid damage will be the most effective way to reliably damage the Shadow Lord as it can hit exactly where it hurts him most. Fryevia and Veritas of the Light although rare, are the most powerful hybrid damagers to be found. Noctis is decent but doesn't have the same damage and he is just as rare as either.

If this means of attack is not possible, the player has two options: a) Diversify the party so it can inflict both means of damage. b) Focus on one particular type of damage and capitalize on said damage whenever the Shadow Lord has a weakness.

Both are valid and depend solely on the player's ability to be able to inflict either damage. Ideally the player should try to build chains of either damage, so the player will need at least 2 units that can inflict either. For Physical, the usual like Orlandeau, Veritas of the Dark, Aileen, etc. will do the job. If not the player can use Bran, Amelia or other chainers of lesser rarity. Setzer helps with chains even if 4,000,000 may be a bit too much for his Double Dice strategy.

For Magic Chains, Ashe is a solid choice as she can damage and heal at the same time. The newly upgraded Shantotto can perform a massive chain with Tornado. Lunera is a rare unit but is a great magic chainer. Otherwise the player may try elemental chain or strong Magic attacks that ignore SPR. They should just be wary to not use Dark element.

Regardless of how the player chooses to harm the Shadow Lord, they should not forsake survivability. Healers and support units are greatly appreciated. Marie and Minfilia can provide defensive buffs and elemental protection although one is rare and the other is limited. Other options exist although less powerful like Cerius, Rikku, Cloud of Darkness. Luka has great defensive buffs and can provide major heals and status ailment relief (although she will have to be immune to Paralysis at least).

A Tank may also prove helpful. Warrior of Light has great protective abilities and can inflict major stat breaks. Veritas of the Earth can also protect the party and bestow damage reduction to the party and a useful counter for LB-centered tactics.

Once one is capable of dealing with his damage and navigate through either defensive cycle, the player should succeed in a matter of time.